From Mozart to Khachaturian [62:44] Piano Works by Scarlatti, Schumann, Granados, Ginastera [66:56] Rhapsody in Blue and Other Piano Works [65:46]
Full track listings at end of review.
Mauro Bertoli (piano)
rec. 25-27 March 2011. No venue given. DDD Self-published

These three CDs featuring Canada-based Italian pianist Mauro Bertoli (b.1983)
were all recorded on consecutive days and, given the absence of any label or
catalogue number, are presumably self-published. There is no date of publication,
though it must be recent. Bertoli's website
sheds no further light. Last year he released a similar 'private' CD with the
violinist Lucia Cooreman Luque - see review.

The CD booklets are no more than four-sided leaflets containing Bertoli's biography
- as reproduced verbatim from his website - and nothing else, beyond some cursory
recording information and a big close-up photo of Bertoli's smiling face. The
lack of any discussion - mention, indeed - of the featured works or their composers
is going to be a deterrent to many: a composer listed simply as "E.Granados"
or "A.Ginastera", with no dates attached to the name or music.This is not much
help to prospective listeners wondering whether they will like the music and
wanting to find out more, whether beforehand or post purchase. At the very least
Bertoli might have included a personal note explaining his choice of programme.

The biography does contain a 'personal recommendation' by veteran French pianist/conductor
Philippe Entremont, which at least suggests that Bertoli is a pianist worth
hearing - and so it turns out. Not only does he have the technique and panache
to dazzle in Granados's lyrical note-spectacular, the Allegro de Concierto,
Schumann's underrated Paganini Studies or the last of Ginastera's colourful
Argentinean Dances, but also the poetry to move heart and soul in Brahms's Intermezzo
in A or Pärt's simple, but startlingly poignant Für Alina, and to
evoke the elegiac qualities of Liszt's E minor Hungarian Rhapsody.

Bertoli is thankfully no Flash Harry: even in Liszt's quirkier, sometimes riotous
D flat Rhapsody he eschews self-indulgence and gives the listener the composer
rather than the performer - a far cry from certain other young pianists. He
seems equally at home playing Scarlatti, Shostakovich or Schumann, although
it is in the lattermost's delightful works that he seems to exude particular
enjoyment, which the listener cannot help but share.

The three recitals all follow a similar pattern: some attractive 19th century
repertoire based around Schumann or Liszt, with various extensions forward into
the 20th century and the odd foray back into the 1800s. The three discs blend
a happy mix of lighter fare - the pieces by Mozart, Gershwin, Pärt, Scarlatti
and Ginastera - with more red-blooded pianism from Liszt and Granados, whilst
Schumann and Brahms cover the middle ground. The relatively rare Rhapsody in
Blue in Gershwin's solo piano version - which plays down the gaudy 'Hollywoodness'
of either of those for orchestra or even for piano duo - is a highlight of its
disc: Bertoli is riveting. His Steinway D, by the way, has a nicely rounded
tone and is expertly recorded in studio-grade audio - for some, perhaps, a shade
too closely miked for the very best results.

Somewhat brassily, some pieces turn up on separate CDs: the Schumann Toccata,
the Brahms Intermezzo and Granados' Allegro de Concierto. Despite the assurances
of the dates provided, these are in fact identical recordings, although in fairness
this only robs each disc of seven minutes, and of course is not an issue for
anyone buying only one disc. On the other hand, those who can afford it are
unlikely to regret acquiring all three.